Portable apparatus for making iced bodies



April 25, 1939. v. PLANER 2,155,955

PORTABLE APPARATUS FOR MAKING ICED BODIES Filed' June 15, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR v CTOR PLAN FR ATTORNEY April 25, 1939. v. PLANER PORTABLE APPARATUS FOR MAKING ICED BODIES Filed June 15, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR VICTOR PLAN ER BY? ATTORNEY 1 lfilllilllllllflrlrlllfl 7 Ill/1 Patented Apr. 25, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Victor Planer, Paris, France, assignor of fifty per cent to Josef Oppenheimer, New York, N. Y.

Application June 15, 1935, Serial No. 26,751

3 Claims.

This invention relates to a portable, lightweight apparatus for making iced bodies, easily carried in a small bag, in the automobile, etc. and ready for use at any time.

The invention makes use of the well known fact that compressed carbon dioxide, particularly liquefied carbon dioxide, if released from a high pressure container into one of lower pressure, particularly in the open air, is almost entirely converted into snow.

The invention may be mere fully described in the following specification with reference to the drawings in which Fig. 1 shows a front elevation, Fig. 2 a side elevation, seen in the direction of the arrow II in Fig. 1, one embodiment of the invention, while Fig. 3 is a cross-section along the line IIIlII in Fig. 1; Fig. 4 shows another performance of a detail.

Fig. 5 shows a front elevation, and Figs. 6, 7 a detail of another embodiment of the invention, and Fig. 8 still another feature of the invention. However, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to these exemplifications, but to be derived in its broadest aspect from the appended claims.

In Figs. 1, 2, 3, I0 is a frame of cast iron or another sufficiently strong material bearing three rings l2, l3. Into the upper ring H a stopper I4 is screwed and may be raised by turning the handle l5. If raised, a container l6 of steel, or the like, may be inserted which is filled with carbon-dioxide under high pressure, say 10 to 20 atmospheres per sq. cm., or with liquid carbon dioxide. The container is closed at its lower end by a stopper H, for instance of lead, tin, or any other suitable metal not subject to attack by carbon dioxide. This lower end of the container or shell l6 fits into the opening of the ring l2 and may be more or less firmly tightened therein by screwing down the stopper M.

A tube I8 is provided with a screw-thread I9 on its outside, fitting into a corresponding screwthread of ring l3, while to its upper. end a thinner tube of strong material 2| is fitted which is provided with a very sharp edge 22. A suitable handle 23 for turning the tube l8 in either direction is fitted to its outside.

A bag 24 of any suitable and preferably waterproof material, such as rubber, is provided with an opening set into a frame, the parts 25, 26 of which are pivotally connected at 21, 28. The frame is widened at its upper end and fits into a. scissorlike hold consisting of two parts 29, 30 pivotally connected at 3|, the ends 32, 33 of which are annualr and grip the correspondingly shaped widened parts 34, 35 of the frame 25, 26. The parts 34, 35 may be connected permanently or exchangeably with the parts 32, 33.

The parts 34, 35 are furthermore provided with projections 36, 31 towards the inside fitting into corresponding grooves on the outside of ring I3.

The bag 24 is lined with a rough fabric, such as velvet, or it may entirely consist of velvet, instead of rubber. It is furthermore advisable to cover its outside with some heat insulating material, such as felt or the like, or the entire bag may be made of felt.

Such a bag of suitable size may be filled partially with water, or another liquid in which carbon dioxide is soluble. Preferably only half of the bag, or less, is filled with liquid. It is to i be understood, however, that the apparatus also operates without the addition of any s In operation, the screw M is firs t l" tube I8 is screwed down to its lowest position. Then the bag 24 is fastened to the ring |3 by opening the scissors 29, 30 putting the parts 32, 33 around the upper end 34, 35 of the bag, whereupon the scissors are closed around the lower end of the ring l3 which the. projections 36, 31 tightly grip.

A spring 38 may be provided between the handles of the scissors tending to keep the scissors closed with adequate force. Now the shell H5 is inserted into the upper part of frame Ill and pressed into the opening of ring |2 by lowering the screw M. It is to be understood that by this arrangement the container I6 is only to be kept in its place, but that no tight or particularly rigid hold is necessary. Now, the tube I8 is turned and thereby raised, so that the tube 2| with its sharp edge 22 bores into the stopper H of container l6, and finally reaches its inside whereby an open communication is established between the inside of the container l6 through the hole of tube 2|, l8 and the outlet 20 with the inside of the bag 24. The carbon-dioxide under pressure in container I6 violently escapes,

or the liquid carbon dioxide flows out under the pressure of its own vapors and evaporates in the bag. Due to the high amount of heat absorbed by this expansion of the carbon dioxide into the bag 24, or evaporation of liquid carbon dioxide in the bag 24, the carbon dioxide is almost com.- pletely converted into so-called snow within the bag 24. This snow is dissolved in the water, if present, in the bag, transforming it into a block of ice. If no such liquid is present, simply carbon dioxide snow, being extremely cold, is formed and deposited within the bag 24.

After the content of container I6 is discharged within a few seconds, the scissors 29, 30 may be opened and the bag 24 removed, and the content of the bag-consisting of carbon dioxide-snow or an ice block-may be used for any purpose. If the amount of snow or ice so produced is insuflicient for the intended purpose, another filled container l6 may be inserted into the frame It] and the process described be repeated by using the same bag 24. The emptied container I6 may be sent back to the factory to be refilled and may then be used again.

Instead of using a stopper II of lead or the like, and a tube cutting. through it, a valve may be provided at the bottom of container l6, as shown in Fig. l, in which, however, only the lower part of the container l6 and the upper part of the tube I8 with handle 23 is shown. Into the bottom of container iii a stopper 39 is screwed, having an opening 45 closed by a valve 4| with stem 42. which has a smaller diameter than the hole 40. The upper end 43 of the tube 18 is tapered so as to enter the hole 40 as closely as possible after having inserted a container 16 into the rings ll, [2; by turning and thereby raising the tube IS, the part 43 touches and raises the stem 42, thereby opens valve 4|, and allows the carbon dioxide contained in the container IE to enter the inner part of tube l8 and to fiow into the bag in the way described above.

In the feature according to Figs. 5, 6, the bottom of the container l6 may be made in any convenient way. The upper part II of the frame In is in this feature of the invention not hollow, but solid and provided only with a lug 44. The lower end of container 16 may be shaped in any suitable way. A receiver is provided for the snow or ice in the shape of two half-shells fitting together. The halves consist of an inside lining, or the like, of rough fabric 45, such as velvet, and an outside cover 46 of cellulose, or the like. The space 4'! may be filled with any suitable heat insulating material. The halves are fitted into a frame consisting of two parts 48, 49 pivotally connected at B and being provided at their upper end with projections 52, 53 enclosing a hole 5|, as shown in Fig. '7. The projections 52, 53 may be inserted from below into two corresponding spaces 54, 55 of the lower ring [3, and upon turning the apparatus by about 90 by means of the handle 56, the projections 53, 54 are entering recesses provided in the parts 51, 58 of the ring l3, as shown in Fig. 4, whereby a kind of bayonetlock is obtained. Now again, by turning the tube l8 by means of a handle 23, a communication between the container 16 and the receiver may be established, the snow collected in the double shell receiver, whereupon it is turned again by 90 and may be removed from the holder, opened, and its content consisting of snow, or an iced body, taken out.

In the embodiments of the invention shown, no particular care is taken to prevent any escape of carbon dioxide while it flows from its container into the bag or other vessel in which it is to be converted into snow. Indeed, the escape of some carbon dioxide seems useful because more heat is consumed and better cooling achieved. If a bag of velvet or similar rough and liquid retaining but not absolutely gas-tight material is used, both efiects are obtained: Allowing some carbon dioxide to escape and favoring the conversion of the carbon dioxide into snow.

The size of containers used depends upon the amount of ice or snow to be produced in a single operation. The heat consumed by a certain quantity of carbon dioxide expanding through a certain pressure, or through evaporation being known, it is easy to calculate how large the amount of carbon dioxide under a given pressure, or of liquefied carbon dioxide has to be in order to convert into ice, for example, a given amount of water of room temperature.

The fact that the temperature to which the carbon dioxide is cooling down, while being converted into snow, is considerably below 0 0., shows that with relatively small containers easily to be transported in ones pocket, sufficient snow or ice may be produced to cool, for example, a pint of water, and that with still smaller containers suflicient snow or ice may be produced to cool the contents of one or two normal sized tumblers.

Carbon dioxide under pressure, or liquefied, being very cheap at present, and all parts of the apparatus being usable again, the expense for producing snow, or lumps of ice, is very low.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in Fig. 8 an inner container 59 of cylindrical cross section is provided having a bottom 60, consisting of felt, supported by another punctured bottom 6|. Around the wall 59 another wall 62 is arranged, and a third outer wall 63 is provided enclosing a space 54, which may be filled with any suitable heat insulating material. The walls 59, 62, 63 can be made of any suitable material and connected at their upper ends with a cover 65 leaving an open space 55, which communicates with the space 5'! between the walls 59, 62. The bottom BI is carried by a closed outer cover 68 which is pivotally connected at 69 with the outer wall 63 and may be fixed in the closed position at 10 by means of lugs H, 12 and a screw 13. The cover 65 is provided with an inlet 14, with a thread fitting into an inner thread 15 of a frame 16. In this frame 16 again a cartridge may be inserted, as shown in the other figures, containing carbon dioxide under high pressure, or liquefied. If the frame 16 is screwed down with the cartridge, again. a communication will be established between the inside of the cartridge and the inside of the container 59. In

order to open the cartridge, the inlet 14 is pro vided with a wall having a protruding tube H with a sharp edge 18 corresponding to tube 2| and edge 22 of the former examples.

In operation, if the cartridge is inserted and a communication established through inlet 14 with the inner space of the container 59, then the vapors entering the container 59 will be converted into snow, while part of them will escape through the pores of the felt 66 and the holes of the bottom '6! *and ultimately through the valve 19. The felt 60 forms a rough surface pervious to gases which promotes the conversion of the carbon dioxide into snow. Water may be presv,

3. An apparatus for cooling liquids by means of highly compressed or liquefied carbon dioxide upon releasing it into space in gaseous state, comprising two containers, one of said containers adapted to contain carbon dioxide under high pressure, or liquefied, the other one of said containers provided with a wall consisting substantially of rough fabric being permeable by said gaseous carbon dioxide.

VICTOR PLANER. 

